


Meaning of Family

by Blue_Hood



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Alternate Universe - Mutants, Amnesia, Amnesiac Tony Stark, Avengers Compound, Background Relationships, Charles Xavier in a Wheelchair, Family Secrets, Friendship, Gen, Kid Fic, Kid Pietro Maximoff, Kid Wanda Maximoff, Kidnapping, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Memory Loss, Minor Jean Grey/Scott Summers, Mutant Politics, Mutants, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Erik, Protective Erik Lehnsherr, Recovery, Rivalry, Team, Team as Family, Teambuilding, What-If, Xavier Institute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:49:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Hood/pseuds/Blue_Hood
Summary: Pietro and Wanda Maximoff lost who they thought were their parents when they were 10. What if their real father was aware of them and the civil war? What if he was keeping an eye on them and learned about their orphaning? What would Magneto do then?
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr & Charles Xavier, Erik Lehnsherr & Pietro Maximoff & Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff & Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff & Wanda Maximoff & Charles Xavier, Pietro Maximoff & Wanda Maximoff & Tony Stark
Comments: 9
Kudos: 17





	1. Family

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Magneto](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11246709) by [TheSovereigntyofReality](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSovereigntyofReality/pseuds/TheSovereigntyofReality). 



> This was partly inspired by this excerpt from TheSovereigntyofReality's story Magneto:  
> Erik always knew there was something wrong with his mindset. He wouldn’t stop it for the world, but he knew there was something wrong with it. That’s why he kept his distance from them. He didn’t want to contaminate them with his hatred and bitterness. Even now, he realises telling them that they shouldn’t be hateful and bitter wouldn’t help them when he is doing exactly that. He knows that I can set the children straight, and teach them not to be so vicious with their powers.
> 
> Underline is a foreign language, italicized are thoughts/telepathic conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins find they're not as alone as they thought

Pietro and Wanda were still coming to terms with their parents' deaths when they were told to pack their things. Confused, they did as told and followed the caretaker to the front door. A bald man in a wheelchair was waiting there, receiving two packets from an administrator, he smiled at them _"_ Hello, Pietro, Wanda. My name is Charles Xavier." The words were spoken carefully and the man's voice sounded strange.

Wanda responded "What do you want with us?"

The caretaker looked ready to strike her but instead explained, "He was a friend of your father's and has agreed to take you in." That did not make sense but they did not have a choice, they had to go with him.

Charles Xavier's house was huge and filled with strange people, some had weird colored skin and almost all of them could do freaky things. Charles did his best to ease them through the transition to America. Lucky for them, they were already bilingual. Their parents had taught them about their heritage, how their family was Romani, and taught them the language. Charles was surprised to hear them speaking Romani to each other and patiently explained that people who spoke multiple languages from an early age picked up new languages faster than those who only spoke one language as a child. In other words, speaking Slovak and Romani made it easier for them to learn English.

Once they mastered the language, they got a better understanding of their situation. Without a language barrier, they could ask anyone questions. They learned that they were living at a school for mutants and that mutants often develop powers when they hit puberty. With the help of an older student, Wanda and Pietro guessed their father might have been a mutant who went to school there. Charles had shown them Cerebro and explained what it did. The twins and their friend figured he noticed when their father was gone and discovered they were alone. They knew that mutants get their powers during puberty, maybe Wanda and Pietro were mutants in the making. They were not 100% sure about how Charles got to them so fast but they thought they understood why he did it and a little bit about how.

* * *

After his grief left him, Pietro grew into a very happy child. Although mutant powers are nearly impossible to predict, his manifestation of super speed wasn't too surprising. Wanda was always more introverted and held a certain sway over her brother that lasted through their years at the school, her developing psychic powers seemed equally fitting. Charles waited until they both had some control over their gifts to tell them the full truth, having let them believe the story they had crafted as kids. Pietro was the first to overcome his shock- Charles suspected that his power altered the way he experienced time- "Magneto is our father. What about the people we watched die? Who were they if not our parents?"

"They were your aunt and uncle on your mother's side, they took you in after your mother died when you were still infants."

Pietro started to pace at super speed "How- If our father is the reason you took us in, how did you even know?"

Charles sighed "Your father knows that there is something wrong with his mindset, although he wouldn't change it for the world, he knows that growing up under him would be toxic for both of you. He kept his distance from you but he also kept an eye on you, he learned of your foster parents' demise and asked me to take care of you. Your father cares about you deeply, which is why he wanted to keep you from making the same sort of mistakes he has made."

"What are you talking about?"

Wanda understood "He wanted to keep us from becoming terrorists. He wanted to give us a chance at a good life, free from his hate. What did he offer you in exchange for taking care of us?"

"In his own words, anything. In practice, he leaves your fellow students alone. Your father has, on occasion, recruited from my school. He does not want you to wind up following in his footsteps and so, he keeps his distance."

Pietro said "I think we should be able to choose if we want to meet him, and not as X-Men."

"I agree, which is why I have gotten you both placed on his visitor's list. You can talk to him the next time he is in prison. I would also like you to stay out of fights against the Brotherhood while he is in charge."

"Okay," Pietro was calming down considerably, making Charles further suspect that his speed was not limited to running. "Thanks for telling us, I think we need time to think."

"Of course."

* * *

Erik was surprised when two people were admitted to his plastic prison, neither of them in a uniform or wheelchair. "Who are you?"

The boy grabbed the girl's hand and answered "My name is Pietro, this is Wanda. You've heard of us, yes?" His accent was thicker than usual, more for effect than anything.

"Yes. I told Charles I wanted to keep you safely away from me and he put you on the visitor's list."

He dropped the accent, "Why?"

"What?"

"You wanted the Professor to never tell us the truth, to let us live our whole lives thinking we had no family. Why?"

"You know who I am, don't you son?"

"No." Pietro shook his head "How could I?"

Erik considered that and the way his daughter looked like she was going to murder him any second, "I'm sure Charles told you about me." Pietro looked at the camera, noticing how the red light went out then he shot over to his father in seconds. "I see. You believe that had you not manifested, you would never know the truth and you're probably right." Erik told him "If you would step back just a bit, I will tell you why you did not grow up with me as a father. There is a story there as well as the obvious reasons." Pietro ran back to his sister's side and Erik told them about their mother, his marriage, saving a human life and the price he paid for doing so. "When I slaughtered those responsible for killing Anya, Magda fled in fear, seeing me as the monster everyone else in town believed me to be. I did not know she was pregnant, I suspect she did not know, nor did I chase her. I just resumed the mission I had briefly abandoned when I believed I could live a peaceful, quiet life. My daughter was killed because she might have inherited my power. Whatever faith I had left in humanity at that time died with her. Never again will I allow such a tragedy to befall our people or my family." The light on the camera had turned back on after Pietro returned to Wanda's side, causing Erik to strongly suspect his daughter was responsible for the glitch. Erik looked her in the eye and said "I could not risk another child being murdered simply because they are mine. That is the real reason I kept my distance, not whatever philosophical nonsense Charles chooses to believe." They ran out of time before Pietro or Wanda could tell their own story, the latter altered perceptions so that nobody except for their father knew they were Magneto's children and the former altered the surveillance footage, filling the gap Wanda made when she turned the camera off. Both twins had a newfound respect for their father, despite themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The part about languages is actually true. There is a reason why many countries start kids on foreign languages early. Psychology says that before the age of 14, children are better able to learn other languages. After 14, they learn through translations and memorization. That's why people who took a foreign language in high school or college find they're not as fluent after a period of disuse but people who grew up in a bilingual household maintain fluency even after disuse.


	2. Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins encounter and save Tony Stark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: 1/7/21 This story was originally a one-shot, which is why if you read it before today, there was a line at the start of this chapter. While I was writing the part about Tony Stark, I remembered I'm terrible at one-shots and realized the story was too long

Pure luck led Wanda and Pietro into Tony Stark's orbit. Although they knew intellectually that even if the bomb they saw laying in the wreckage of their home in Sokovia was a Stark Industries' bomb, Tony Stark had next to nothing to do with it. Maybe he didn't even design it, Stark Industries had a whole department of people whose job it was to invent new things for the company. Still, neither twin could forget staring at the name Stark, wondering if the people trying to save them would accidentally kill them. Wanda looked into Stark's head, careful not to let him know she was doing it, and was horrified by what she found. Pietro helped her get somewhere secluded before jetting off to the school. He explained to the Professor "We saw Tony Stark. Wanda might have been triggered because she used her power and then this happened." Wanda had not really been able to communicate well after whatever she saw. The twins weren't even doing anything special, they were just in the city on a walk when they came across a poorly disguised Tony Stark doing the same. While the twins could have gone for a walk around the school, where Pietro would not have to find somewhere to hide before using his speed, it was good for them to be around humans and they had some pocket money to spend if they wanted. Wanda actually had her license, Pietro was still working on his- the young man struggled with speed limits more than anything- so they carpooled with some classmates instead of needing a teacher to take them into the city as lower classmen did.

Charles looked into Wanda's mind and was similarly shocked but he managed to focus on the task at hand, helping her push back against the memory that belonged to neither of them. "Pietro, gather the X-Men, both teams." Students in the most advanced training class were considered junior X-Men and the twins were among them. Pietro got right on that after confirming Wanda would be okay. He found a licensed driver at the school who was not an X-Man to drive the car he and his classmates took back while he rounded up said classmates. Once everyone was in the War Room, Wolverine included (Pietro wondered when the man got back this time), Charles told them "While they were out today, Wanda and Pietro came across Tony Stark. Wanda's control slipped and she looked into Mr. Stark's mind, discovering a memory from the New York Invasion that has been plaguing the man for a long time. When Mr. Stark flew through the portal above his tower, he saw an extensive army on the other side. By Mr. Stark's estimates, this army was probably not destroyed in its entirety by the nuclear missile he brought through the portal, which is the reason why the memory of the army has haunted him. It would seem New York was just the beginning. I highly doubt Mr. Stark has purposefully kept this information to himself. Only a man who did not care would do such a thing, the fact he is plagued by the memory shows he does care. A much more likely scenario is that Mr. Stark told his fellow Avengers and they brushed him off, giving the impression that nobody would believe him."

"What do you think we should do?" asked John Allerdyce. Pyro was the leader of the junior team, hand-picked just like Cyclops was when his team was the junior team.

Pietro guessed "Offer support? If the problem is Stark's convinced nobody will believe him then the solution is showing him that people do believe him. How hard would it be to contact the man and ask about the invasion?"

Jean answered "If we don't want him to be suspicious of us, it would be nearly impossible."

Pietro realized something, "Do we have any reason to suspect Stark is against mutants?" Wanda looked at her brother with disbelief and he explained his reasoning, "He readily accepts an alien, two science experiments, and a pair of assassins into his home in the hopes they could fend off the next invasion like they did the first one. If he was anti-mutant, wouldn't he be against all of the Avengers? Thor, Bruce Banner and Steve Rogers are all Enhanced. There's not proof the assassins aren't."

"Why are you calling them assassins?" asked Bobby Drake, Iceman was a lot like Pyro, enough that it wasn't hard to figure that he would have been team leader if not for his roommate.

"What else could they be? Regular SHIELD agents either can't or don't do the things Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton do. Come to think of it, are we sure none of the Avengers are mutants?"

"No." Charles answered "I am not certain Mr. Stark, and Agents Barton and Romanoff are all human. The issue is not that Mr. Stark may be against mutants, although that is a factor to consider."

Scott cut him off and finished for him "The problem is how we tell Stark we believe him without arousing so much suspicion that he doesn't trust a word we say."

Pietro took his hat off and pointed at his hair, "Visible mutation, pretty easy to check for anti-mutant leanings. It would be easy to see how Stark feels about mutants. Answering that question will give us somewhere to start building credibility with him. If he is anti-mutant then we could start making our own preparations for this impending invasion and just team up when the time comes. If he's not then we join forces to prepare. Or am I missing something huge? Are we not helping protect the planet mutants and humans share because the guy we got our information from doesn't like mutants. The end of the world is the end of the world, mutants can't exactly move to Mars."

Wanda suddenly realized something, "Stark's mind wasn't right."

"Meaning?" asked Pietro.

"There wasn't the normal chatter of thoughts, aside from his perception of the memory."

Pietro sighed and turned to look at Charles, _What should we do? Even if Stark doesn't know he's Tony Stark, other people will notice him getting kidnapped._

_It would seem Mr. Stark is currently impaired and thus cannot defend himself._

_You want us to bring him here then?_

_And be_ _careful._ They both knew Charles wouldn't give such instructions lightly.

Before anyone else could catch onto their secret discussion, Pietro grabbed his sister and ran back to the area they saw Stark in. Pietro dropped her off by some cover and pulled Stark out of the line of fire seconds before he would have been killed, slowing down as he acted to make it easier for his sister to alter perceptions. People had a tendency to refuse to accept ideas that contradicted what they thought they already knew, this confirmation bias caused humans to reject the heliocentric model of the solar system for a long time. The human mind was a delicate thing that could be shaped or manipulated but only up to a point. If Wanda had to change people's perception, what they thought they saw, too much then her changes would not stick in the long run. Pietro understood that much about his sister's powers, at least, and she understood how his mind was wired for speed, making it difficult for him to obey speed limits. On foot, he had no problem going a set speed, because that was just a facet of his control.

After saving Tony Stark's life and slowing to human speeds in the process, Pietro hustled the man away from the area, blending in with the terrified people trying to scatter before another shot could be fired. "We're going to take you to safety but you need to trust us," Pietro kept his head and his voice down. He reached behind his back with the hand not keeping Tony Stark moving at his side and produced another hat, swiftly putting it on the billionaire. His friends thought it weird that he kept a spare in his waistband like some gangster hiding a gun but then, most of them didn't have physical mutations. Rogue, who had to cover up as much of her body as possible, understood keeping extra cover on your person.

Tony asked "We? Us?"

Wanda joined them "My brother and I are gonna keep you safe. We're here to help."

"O-kay." Even apparently amnesiac, the billionaire had trust issues.

Pietro sighed, he hated transporting people without their consent but he wasn't about to announce his mutant power. In less than a second, Wanda had her hand on Tony's arm and Pietro was flanking the two of them, gently placing his hand on the back of their necks. Then he was running, Wanda had enough experience being a passenger to her brother that she simply slipped into his mind to see through his eyes so that she could lift them into the air to get over the school gate. Tony had no idea what was going on and transporting one person down stairs at super speed was difficult, which is why Pietro slowed to a stop outside the secret elevator, pushing the hidden button to reveal said elevator. _He's here, scared out of his mind probably but here. We're bringing him down stairs now, uh, you're gonna have to do the explaining since grabbing him was your idea._

_Understood._

They got Tony to board the elevator with them and took him to the War Room. "I'd just like to say, this was a bad idea but I think we pulled it off. Want us to leave you two alone?"

Charles shook his head then put his fingers to his temple and began communicating with Tony Stark, putting the man at ease, somehow. Pietro and John were playing finger football when Charles finished whatever he was doing with Tony Stark. "Okay." Tony said "Thanks for the help but I think you might have a problem if anyone else recognized me."

"Wanda can alter perceptions, which is why people ran away without calling me a monster after I used my speed to save your life." Pietro caught the hat the other man tossed to him.

"Random question," Tony asked "Why did you have two hats?"

Pietro took his cap off and pointed to his hair "Physical mutation and before you bring up hair dye, let me point out people don't usually die their eyebrows and there is no sign of another color at the roots. Hats are less hassle than dying my hair all the time."

"Fair point. I'm not sure what happened."

"Well, you gained a bunch of allies in your quest to protect the world against another invasion. Next time Magneto's in prison, the Professor can bring him up to speed."

"Magneto is in prison now," said Jean.

"Right. Then next time Magneto breaks out of prison, he can prepare the Brotherhood, which is essentially an illegal mutant militia."

Much as Scott wanted to say something about the Brotherhood being a bit more than that, he held back. Pietro's point stood, the Professor could visit Magneto and pass on the information, and Magneto had broken out of prison often enough that it was only a matter of time. Might as well make the most of their next visit, use that advantage. Unaware of the conflict within Cyclops, Tony Stark nodded "Right. Good to know I have allies who actually believe me."

"Two of those allies have been inside your head. My sister catching what you saw on the other side of the portal is why we called this meeting. It was only after we all got together that she realized something was wrong with your thoughts, realized something was missing. We figured you didn't recognize yourself and correctly guessed we weren't the only ones who recognized you. Sorry about the kidnapping."

"I'm not even- it's fine."

"Good, so you'll make sure the hounds are called off."

"After I leave, yeah."

Pietro tossed him a phone, "Do you remember what you saw upstairs?"

Tony thought about it then took the phone and did something to make his call go through "Hey, J... I'm fine... Did you also notice the bullet that nearly killed me? Y'know what, secure the line so I can explain... Did you notice there were two people involved?... The girl is psychic, she saw what I saw and they believe me. They realized something was up with my head- I'll submit to whatever tests you want when I get back- anyway, they noticed something was up and got me to safety..." Pietro was suddenly at his side, offering a business card. He flicked it over to the back, where he wrote a note: be vague. Then he handed the card over "I'm at a school for mutants, they helped me out... Okay, I'll ask but given how people treat mutants... Yeah, that would probably go over better... Thanks." He hung up "The hounds have been called off but Pepper wants to meet some of you and JARVIS wants to scan me when I get back to make sure I'm me."

"Pepper is Ms. Potts but who's JARVIS?"

"My AI."

"Ok." Tony was shocked by that before Pietro deadpanned "Look around." Tony did, taking in various signs that the people in the room were not human.

"Point taken."

"We can tell Magneto what's up and he can prepare the Brotherhood for war of the worlds, we can run extra training exercises and maybe invite alumni back for more training, see if they'll join the X-Men as reserves. What else can we do?"

"I have to ask, why are you going all out on this?"

"Mutants and humans may not like each other, I'd almost wager we hate each other equally, but we still share a planet. The end of the human world is also the end of the mutant world. If we could move simply to Mars, don't you think we would've already done that instead of enduring human hate? Plus, given what mutants can do, if the aliens come and they curbstomp the Avengers then humans will blame mutants, for not doing enough, for standing by and letting it happen. If the aliens come and mutants help beat them back then that will help the cause. Especially since you're honest enough to go to bat for us and keep the people from getting much traction when they try to say mutant interference only made things worse. Seems to me it's in our best interest to help you. Are those reasons enough?"

"More than enough."

"Good. Let's pool resources and you might want to consider pulling out of the Avengers, if they don't believe you when you tell them what you saw then how can you trust them to back you up when it counts? Have they ever backed you up? Let's try a thought exercise." Pietro retrieved a notebook and pen, creating a T-chart. "Positive on the left, negative on the right. Try to list all the ways they support you, back you up, raise you up on the left under positives. On the right under negatives, list all the ways they do the opposite. A simple test to see if people actually care about you or if they're taking advantage." To his teachers, he added "This test could also be used for mutants with very useful powers. You don't have to be specific, this list isn't for me, it's for you. List things however you want."

Pietro went back to playing finger football with John while they waited, giving Tony space to figure things out. When he suddenly started cursing, Pietro caught the paper football as the table turned to him. Tony said "You're right. I've got the negative column almost full and the positives not even halfway there. Looking at it this way, the positives are clearly just a way to manipulate me."

"What are you going to do?"

"Cut ties, cut them off. Maybe sue."

"You provide equipment for them, right?" At his nod, Pietro said "Be sure to take that away first and maybe have an armor on hand when you evict them. You should probably talk to Ms. Potts before acting, she might be more effective and less compromised."

"Right." Tony scrubbed a hand down his face.

"Have you memorized our address?"

"Yeah."

"Then if you need some time, you can come back later. We'll start our preparations and when you're ready, we can begin collaborating. If you want, I can take you to your Tower."

"Yeah, that, that'd be appreciated."

Pietro took his phone back and pulled his hat on, noting "I don't think we even have anything to talk about. We'll be sure to train more but until we have a clearer idea of what we're training for, there is a limit to what we can do." Charles agreed and they all dispersed. Most of the room left to get a head start on training, leaving the elevator open for Charles, Tony and Pietro.

Tony said "Thank you."

"For?"

"Getting me to safety, offering your help, helping me see what my team was doing to me, everything."

"In that case, I should probably tell you why my sister was in your head to begin with. Wanda and I grew up in Sokovia, we were raised by our aunt and uncle who we believed were our mother and father. That is important to note because when we were ten, a missile hit our home and caused a collapse. From our perspective, our parents were killed and we were trapped for two days staring at a second missile with your company's logo on it. By ten year old logic, if it's got your name on it then it's yours. We hated you and seeing you brought back those irrational feelings. Rest assured, Wanda isn't the reason for your memory blackout. The Professor would have been able to easily restore those memories if Wanda had taken them."

As they left the elevator, Tony told him, "I believe you."

"Why?"

"If your sister fucked with my head then it would be in your best interest to keep that quiet."

"Right."

"Self-interest is almost something you can set your watch by."

"Agreed."

They fell silent until Tony asked "Was your hair always white?"

"No, it used to be brown like my sister's. Although some mutants are born with physical mutations like blue skin, I underwent a physical change in addition to gaining my powers."

"Interesting." Tony asked "Are you ready to run me back to the Tower?"

They were approaching the front door when Tony asked and Pietro stopped at the security console next to the door, through which someone could check the gate camera before admitting a stranger "In a moment, I have to open the gate first." With the gate opening, he led Tony outside the door then put his hand on the back of the man's neck.

"Why are you-" he was cut off by Pietro speeding them away. The mutant stopped in an alley near the Tower. "Why'd you grab my neck?"

"Technically, my hand was resting where your head meets your neck to keep your head from snapping back. I could have picked you up in a fireman's carry, which is the safest way to carry someone, but that seemed excessive."

"Good to know." Tony said "See ya around."

"See you soon." Pietro beckoned for him to get moving, "We don't know who was shooting at you. I'd hate to go through all this trouble just to have you murdered two minutes later in a very preventable fashion."

"Right." Pietro watched Tony greet a heavyset man as he entered the Tower before returning to the school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The test Pietro suggested was inspired by Break a Bad Habit by TheSovereigntyofReality. One of the Transcendent Souls (Sov's OCs) used a similar thought exercise to open Howard's eyes to who Peggy really was


	3. Teams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The junior X-Men are nearing graduation when they receive a proposal

Tony had made good on his plan to talk to Pepper about getting the Avengers out of his life. She found ways to send them all to prison, except for Bruce and Thor: the former because Tony asked nicely and the latter because he was an alien prince who was almost never around (you can't arrest someone you can't find and his royal status just made things complicated). After that, he took a closer look at the SHIELD Index and started helping out the people on that list. Soon, he found himself in talks with important political figures that morphed into initiatives around the world to get the Enhanced ready to defend the planet. The Avengers were almost lucky Loki's portal opened over an American city but they could not count on future invasions being in a convenient location. He was a godsend to the mutant rights cause, getting people to generalize mutants with people like Steve Rogers and using SHIELD's preferred term: Enhanced.

The billionaire kept in touch with the X-Men and let American politicians know that he knew them. A month out from graduation, the junior X-Men gathered in the library with the senior X-Men and the Professor for a meeting with Tony Stark and Hank McCoy. Tony dropped a packet in front of the twins, "I want you to join the New Avengers Initiative."

The furry blue mutant with him sighed and put a much thicker document in front of Pyro, "This is the charter for X-Factor, a government-sponsored mutant team. Dr. Stark and I have put a lot of work into getting this charter made for your team. If you sign, you will have a liaison from my department and a handler that will oversee your team."

"Handler?"

Tony said "We're looking at Everett Ross, he's a CIA agent who works Joint Counter Terrorism. Before he was a CIA agent, he got kicked out of the military for an incident involving a mutant. His discharge resulted from Ross slugging a superior and now the guy's gotta tell basically every American he meets that he's not related to General Ross. I'm serious, no relation has basically become a catchphrase for the guy. I don't foresee Everett objecting but I'm not sure the CIA will approve the transfer. Regardless, we have the clout to keep someone like Henry Gyrich from getting the assignment, guy hates supers and nearly got the job of overseeing the Avengers while War Machine's transfer was pending."

Hank very politely suggested "Why don't you explain the Initiative to the twins and I'll explain the charter to the others, like we planned?"

"I thought everyone knew that I'm terrible at following plans." Tony pointed out then nodded and led the twins to a far table, "I'm gonna level with you guys, the government would be fine letting you two stay with your team and become founding members of X-Factor but I want you guys on the Avengers. I want to get as many people I know and trust as I can before the government pulls rank and starts filling in the gap left by the spy twins. Falcon, I'm fine letting them give me another pilot from that program to wear the wings but I want this team to be different from the last. Over half of the Avengers were SHIELD, I don't want to recreate that element. Also, the New Avengers are probably gonna be much more public than X-Factor, our government charter is gonna be much more widely known about so you'd be the public face of cooperation between mutants and the government, even though X-Factor's charter holds the weight to make the Professor's dream a reality."

Pietro read through the charter again, "Seems fair." He sped away and returned with two pens, "What is the catch?"

"You'll be Avengers. You'll be targets. You won't wear the X-Men suits, I'll have to make you new suits that are gonna have to take public perception into account. No more black leather, I'll need to design something that can be made into an action figure. There are downsides of being public superheroes." Wanda's hands glowed for a moment before she took one of the pens and the twins signed. Tony asked her "Were you in my head?"

"Yes, just checking to make sure you are telling us the truth."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the process of writing this chapter, I realized this story is called the Meaning of Family not the Maximoff Family so expect some chapters to be taken over by people who are not surnamed Maximoff.


	4. X-Factor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team tours their base and meets their housemates

A week after graduation, the former junior X-Men officially became X-Factor when Tony and Hank took them to tour their new home. "Just so you know, Everett Ross has signed your charter, it was set up so your handler would have to since he's responsible for your missions." Tony asked Hank "Has their liaison been chosen?"

"Not yet, we'll likely assign someone with a little seniority from the New York office. The charter just went through less than a week ago, after you completed work on the Compound."

Tony told the team "You can choose to name the facility you're going to be working and living out of but for now, it's nameless. It was going to be the Avengers Compound, I started work immediately after New York, but since my team isn't operating out of it, the name is up to you. You don't even have to name it, that is also up to you." He brought them in for a landing, "Fair warning, there were some people who wanted Pyro displaced as team leader, you might hear something about that." Tony moved passed them as he spoke so that he could lead them down the ramp as they deplaned.

A blond man in a suit met them on the tarmac, "That the X-Men's jet? The Blackbird, was it?"

Tony answered with a smile, "Yes and yes but don't worry, you get to keep one of the twin quinjets I set aside for the Avengers here. Training the team to fly it is your choice, although half of them already know how to fly this one so that probably won't be too hard. Is the other- sorry, are the other recruits here?"

"Other recruits?" echoed Iceman.

Everett nodded "Yes. Your containment device is working quite nicely, Jimmy has begun to trust himself more around Warren but he's still too young to actually operate as part of this team. We can't sanction child soldiers."

"Containment device?" echoed Rogue.

Tony turned to her "If Jimmy gets within a few feet of another mutant then they lose their powers. The kid is sharp as a tac and figured out that guys like Wolverine kinda need their mutant powers to live. The bracelet basically internalizes his power, it wouldn't work on you and in fact, I only got the thing approved for Jimmy because the kid started having panic attacks whenever he even saw a mutant, even on TV." The inventor took a deep breath "His issues are less about his power and more about the fact Worthington Labs was trying to synthesize his mutation and call it a cure. Like I said, smart kid. If Worthington Labs hadn't made it clear to him what they were doing, Jimmy would be a very different person today."

"And the other recruit?" asked Pyro.

By way of an answer, Everett said "Look up." Tony turned around and saw Warren as he flew down.

"Couldn't resist," the winged mutant said with a shy smile.

"Not a problem." Ross told the other mutants "Feel free to use your powers whenever you like around here, just try not to hurt anyone and give me some warning if I'm liable to walk in on a warzone, that's all I ask. Let me show you around before we start on logistics."

Tony said "And that's my cue." He turned to Hank, "You can return the jet, can't you?"

"Yes."

Tony told the twins "I don't care if you spend the night here, as long as Pyro and Agent Ross don't mind, but be at the Tower by 10 tomorrow morning so you'll be ready for our meeting at 11 and press conference at 2. Got it?" They nodded and he went inside the garage, bidding them farewell as he drove off in the last car he had left at the Compound.

"Shall we?" Everett led the mutants inside, "I'm sure Dr. Stark already told you that this place was intended for the Avengers when renovations began to convert it from storage. Most of the renovations went ahead as planned, although personnel quarters were expanded and additional detached housing was added to accommodate the growing number of residents. Even now, we're not at full capacity and hopefully, we never will be."

"Detached housing?" Colossus didn't understand and neither did most of the mutants.

Ross stopped and turned around, "Your quarters and mine are within this building. Dr. Stark had another separate building erected across the property that is strictly housing, mostly apartments for staff but also some barracks for any other teams we might host. I'm sorry, I should've asked for your names. I've seen your files, they're all pretty thin and only list your codenames. I can't add your real names to them without your permission but that doesn't mean you have to stick to codenames all the time."

Pyro said "Mutant names, not codenames. Some mutants don't answer to the names they were given at birth, for various reasons. Rogue goes by Rogue. I'm John."

"Bobby," he turned to Warren "Iceman's my mutant name. John's is Pyro."

"Warren, Angel." The high school grads went around introducing themselves.

Secretary McCoy surprised them all by joining in, "Hank, Beast." At everyone's surprised looks, he said "I was one of the first X-Men back in the day. In fact, I created the original Blackbird," he smiled at Ross "It was for the CIA during the Cold War. I was working for your agency before anyone knew of mutants' existence. Of course," he gestured to himself "I looked much different back then."

"Interesting as that is, let's move on." Privately, Ross couldn't believe what he was hearing but decided to table it and try to talk to the old mutant in private.

Rogue asked "Where are we going?"

"I'm going to start with the offices and move back, there's a set of pamphlets and a map in each of your rooms that should help. Dr. Stark also gave us an AI. Say hello, FRIDAY."

"Hello, X-Factor!" the sound of an Irish woman's voice surrounded them.

"Offices?" asked Pyro.

"You, me and whoever the New York Mutant Affairs office assigns us each have an office. And before you ask, no, you do not have to use yours aside from the occasional meeting but I think you should."

Warren asked "So he's the team leader?"

"Yes, and we're here. The offices are purposefully placed near the front of the building because they are intended to be used for meetings with visitors. I would like to keep all professional encounters contained to this area. There's a conference room, as you can see, right there."

"There's more than three offices," observed Warren.

"Yes there is. In addition to myself, your liaison and team leader, the heads of each support department has an office. We have maintenance crews for our equipment, their leader has an office. As you can clearly see, the offices all have name plates." Ross led them into Pyro's, "Within reason, you can decorate your office, like any other office. Pyro, you should consider keeping some sort of office hours to deal with issues between the team and staff."

"Issues?"

"Part of being professional is being prepared. Anything minor will be dealt with by the department heads but if something major comes up, better to head it off and avoid a scandal. Don't worry." Ross pulled something out of the desk drawer, a list, "There are seminars you are strongly encouraged to take. You're all free to take college classes. I'd recommend trying online classes, at least until all of the logistics for this team are figured out." He gestured towards the door and they took the cue to file out, Pyro pocketing the list. Popping into his own office, he passed out lanyards "These ID cards double as key cards. FRIDAY can open, close, unlock or lock any door in the building. Those key cards are more like backups but you do need them for roof access, that's the one door FRIDAY will not open unless it's an emergency. Restricted access remains restricted in an emergency, just a heads up. If or when you start gaining access to those areas, your key card will be the only way in." He took them through the training and medical facilities then to the green room, "X-Factor is likely going to be a very public team so there is a room set up for press conferences." On the way to the residential area, he pointed "That's the cafeteria, you'll have a pass for it in addition to a communal kitchen. You can buy food there at set times or keep your kitchen stocked and make meals there." Stopping in the common area, he pointed "That is your communal kitchen but the residential wing we're now standing in has several lounges including this one. Bedrooms are up the stairs over there. There are five points of access to the personnel quarters, the two staircases in this area are the only ones that don't require a key card. For the rest, there's the roof access which automatically locks when shut, the training area on the restricted access door and I think there's a shortcut connecting it to the office area. As I said before, you and I live in the building together. Staff and any visitors live in another building on the property. My room's locked, you can pick any of the others."

Pyro asked "What about our liaison?"

"Your liaison with Mutant Affairs will be with Mutant Affairs. If the New York office requests housing, we'll set them up in an apartment. You can join Secretary McCoy when he visits the New York office to straighten things out and suggest they make the request but ultimately, that is how it has to be done. The agency requested I stay with this team, that's how I got a room inside the building. Well," he smirked "That request and the fact I had to sign the same charter you did. The liaison is separate, I can arrange a briefing on Mutant Affairs to give you all an idea of what would fall under your liaison's purview." Ross seemed to remember they were missing a member and touched his ear, "Leech, meet me in the kitchen."

A little boy appeared minutes later. He had blue eyes and brown hair that was just starting to grow in. The boy was wearing a red Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tee and jeans with a clunky bracelet on his wrist. Seeing their eyes drawn to it, he said "It doesn't lock, I can take it off anytime I want. It's still in the development stages. Tony said he thinks he can get it to do the same thing my mutation does, to create a power dampening field but he also said he wanted to make a locking mechanism impossible when he gets closer to that, in case a shipment gets stolen when he brings it to market."

"Okay, that's pretty cool," said Bobby.

Warren jolted suddenly, remembering something he'd forgotten, "We have comlinks, obviously, I mean, that's how Agent Ross summoned Jimmy."

"Jimmy?" Pyro asked "Is that your preferred name?"

"Yeah."

Agent Ross said "I think that's everything. Pyro, I'd like to go over some things, give you a crash course in logistics and paperwork, whenever you have the time. We have a week to get things squared away before we're on duty."

"Okay." Ross gave them one last nod before leaving, McCoy following. Pyro asked Piotr, "Mind giving me a hand unloading our bags?"

"Not at all." They brought everyone's bags bags to the common room. Piotr asked Jimmy "Mind showing us your room?"

"Sure, I was actually in the video game lounge when Agent Ross called. The different lounges are set up differently." He led the team up the stairs after everyone grabbed their own bag, "I have tutors who come and meet me in one of the extra offices, since this-" he held up his bracelet "- isn't supposed to leave the building and neither am I without supervision."

"You're not allowed to leave."

Jimmy stopped "I can leave but I need someone to come with me. We're in the middle of nowhere, nothing is within walking distance, I'd need that anyway. Warren and I have gone to the movies a couple times, he's okay being in my range sometimes."

Warren explained "It helps me blend in. When Jimmy takes off his bracelet and my wings go away, it throws off my balance at first."

"I imagine you've spent enough time hiding. It's fine," said Pyro.

"Right, thanks."

Pyro turned back to Jimmy "You were talking about lounges then jumped to your tutors, I'm guessing there's a connection."

"One of the lounges is a study lounge." He showed them the various lounges set throughout the residential area. One was indeed set up as a study lounge, tables and chairs were set up throughout the room, extra lighting fixtures were set on and above the tables. Jimmy showed them a panel near the door "You can listen to music here but there's a limited list, nothing that's too distracting." Another lounge was more geared towards gaming with bean bag chairs and mushroom chairs and even a few video game rockers. There was a stack of blankets in a back corner and a shelving system in the opposite corner near the screen, the shelves held headphones and controllers and other accessories. "The games are all loaded onto the system in here, you just use a controller to pick one. FRIDAY can lock them and Agent Ross can unlock them if there's a problem, kind of like teachers taking away a toy kids are fighting over." After touring the lounges, Jimmy showed them his room. "Warren and I already picked so three of the rooms are off-limits as far as your choices go."

Pyro asked "Do you care if we pick near your room?"

"If you don't mind your mutation cutting out at night. I'm not allowed to wear the bracelet at night so you might end up losing your power then."

"Not speaking for everyone but I don't mind." Jimmy had pointed out Warren and Everett's rooms. The rest of the team dispersed to claim their own rooms. Pyro told Jimmy "There's nothing wrong with your powers. You should only wear that bracelet if you want to."

"I know. Did Agent Ross tell you how I wound up placed here?"

"No and you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

"I want to." Jimmy explained "Worthington Labs was trying to synthesize my mutation. When Warren was offered a chance to leave and join the team, he asked about me, mentioned how the doctors took too much sometimes. I was transferred here for the investigation and then after it ends, I'll probably get to stay. I guess this place is partly run by Mutant Affairs so they're using it as a safehouse. Did I use that word right? Safehouse?"

"I think so." John took a seat next to Jimmy on his bed, "So you're here because Mutant Affairs isn't set up to foster kids and this place is partly run by Mutant Affairs so they figured it would do the trick. You and Warren have to be careful when you leave in case Worthington Labs tries to take you back."

"Warren's dad owns Worthington Labs, Warren's last name is Worthington."

"I know." Pyro smiled at his surprised look "Tony told us about you and your bracelet when we got here, he mentioned Worthington Labs. Wasn't hard to figure you two came from the same place, plus there's a little bit of a resemblance between Warren and his dad. If Tony hadn't mentioned his dad's company, it might've taken longer to guess where you two were from but the list of possibilities is still pretty short."

"Right."

"Are you gonna be okay?"

"I think so."

"Great. I just realized we forgot to do introductions with you. I'm Pyro, you can call me John if you want. Why don't we get together later for dinner and introduce you to the rest of the team? Nightcrawler's not here yet, he's from Germany so there are some things he has to do before he can join us."

"Sounds good."

"Or I could just tell you who everyone is, save the others a lot of awkwardness. Would you rather do that?"

"Yes, thank you."

"The big guy who looks like he could lift a truck actually can, that's Piotr, his codename is Colossus for obvious reasons. The girl with white in her hair is Rogue, she doesn't use her birth name anymore, not sure I'd recognize it if I heard it. The other girl is Kitty, codename Shadowcat, she can walk through walls. And, uh, Colossus can coat his body in this metal stuff and Rogue can absorb people's life force with a touch, which is why she does her best to cover up. Uh, oh, and Bobby's the other boy with us, his codename is Iceman, he can blast ice out of his hands to make different things like bridges that he can slide on and he can also turn his body into ice, which is different to what Colossus does with metal because Bobby stays the same size and you can kind of see through him."

"What about the other two? You skipped one of the guys and one of the girls with you."

"The guy with white-grey hair and the girl who was really close to him with brown hair?"

"Yeah."

"The guy likes to say his hair is silver not white or grey, in fact his codename is Quicksilver, he's a speedster and not a part of our team. The girl with him is his twin sister, her codename is Scarlet Witch and her powers are hard to define. In simplest terms, she has the full psychic package. She's telepathic, empathic, and telekinetic but I guess that's not all or it's just an effect of her actual power, I'm not really clear on that. Pietro and Wanda, the twins, are recruits for the New Avengers. We all went to school together and we just graduated last week. The twins have to report to the Tower tomorrow. I guess Tony wants to balance out the military people and give his team a mutant presence. Pietro actually saved his life once, which is how we all met him. I'll tell you more when you're older. I don't know all the details myself but what I do know could be considered disturbing."

"Okay."

Searching for something Jimmy could do, John suggested "How about later you give us a rundown of how things work? Like pro tips, can you do that?"

"Of course."

"Good. I should probably go pick out a room. See you around?"

"See you around."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know in the comments if you liked what I did with any of the character interactions, if you want more Pyro and Leech or awkward Warren or any of it.
> 
> I'm debating having Iceman and Pyro featured on Fallon. I kind of want them to display their powers in a safe, studio setting and Jimmy Fallon is the host that came to mind, as someone to stand between them for the display, when I pictured that.
> 
> Tell me what you think and if you have any ideas for this story


	5. New Avengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins join their team

Pietro and Wanda stayed the night at the compound before Pietro ran them to the Tower in the morning. Tony had asked for pictures of the twins and the future X-Factor team after he and Hank made their pitches to the teens. Pietro and Wanda received ID badges with those pictures a week later. As they entered the Tower, they scanned their badges to get through the turnstiles on their way into the lobby. Pietro asked a nearby security guard "Where do we go from here?" His and his sister's badges still in their hands, the man directed them to a particular elevator and the mutant thanked him. In the elevator, he noticed "There's no buttons." The elevator began moving nonetheless "How- where are we going?"

A British voice spoke "Sir has asked that you be taken to him upon arrival."

Remembering the last time a voice came from everywhere in a building Tony had owned, Pietro asked "What is your name? Are you an AI?"

"Yes, I am and my name is JARVIS." Just like FRIDAY, JARVIS had an expressive voice, he sounded a bit confused.

Wanda explained "We just spent the night at what was going to be the Avengers Compound, where we met FRIDAY."

"And we used to live with a couple telepaths who occasionally spoke directly to our minds so hearing voices without seeing a person is not that strange to us," finished Pietro.

"Ah, I see. Sir did mention the X-Men had a few telepaths within their ranks but I had forgotten about Miss FRIDAY, as she is quite young and most of my fellow AIs are much older." The doors opened "Sir is in his workshop straight ahead."

Loud music was suddenly cut off as they entered and when Tony looked up, Pietro was in front of him. "Hi." The engineer put his tools away and made sure to save all of his work on holograms. "I asked JARVIS to bring you to me when you got here so I could show you around." They got back on the elevator to go up a few floors. "This whole floor is yours. Originally, I had it set up for Barton and Romanoff, figuring they'd want to room together if any of the Avengers would. It's yours now, you can do whatever you want with it. There are two bedrooms, which is why I'm giving you this one instead of any of the others." Pietro raced around the apartment before pointing everything out to his twin, telling her which room he picked. "Speedster, right. There's a common area for the team in the middle of the Avengers portion of the Tower. I almost had this whole part turned into staff housing but Pepper talked me out of it by encouraging me to rebuild the team my way, which is what I'm doing. If you need anything, just ask JARVIS. Pietro, there should be dress clothes in each of your closets, make sure your sister gets hers and you get yours. You'll have to wear them for the conference and I want you to try out your suits, which are probably on the common floor. Let's go, and this time, let me point everything out, please."

"Alright."

As predicted, he had left them on the coffee table in the common area instead of the twins' apartment. "I want you to try these on, make sure they fit and don't interfere with your powers. Part of the PR prep we're doing today is making sure everybody is photogenic, our publicist will take part in the meeting. If she says the suits need to change, and she gives good reason, then I'll change them. War Machine is not going back to being Iron Patriot but if she says that another color might work better for your suit, Quicksilver and can point to a study or explain why the color I picked doesn't work then you'll have to let me make the adjustments. I'm not letting her change your codenames so she'll have to deal with Wanda wearing red and some element of silver in your suit, Pietro."

"My hair-"

"Does not count. I can't really see parents letting little kids dye their hair for Halloween and those costumes are a pretty big part of superhero merchandising."

"That's fair. My hair used to be brown like Wanda's, I'd like to be clear about that if we get a chance to explain my physical mutation."

"You can ask our publicist, she'll tell you what is and isn't a no-go. Just because she says no today does not mean you'll never get to bring it up, she might want us to work on building your presence in the media before you stumble into a controversial issue."

"Being a mutant is controversial."

"You can't help stepping on that one, I know. Look, it's like being part of the LGBT community. First people build up their presence, build fame then they offer support or out themselves. Does that make any sense? Did it come out offensive?"

"Not to me but it might to somebody who actually is famous and gay."

"But you get what I'm saying."

"I guess."

"These suits are based on your old ones." Pietro put his on and Wanda merely picked hers up. Quicksilver's suit was blue with a white lightning bolt running across his torso, white gloves and boots, grey trim separated the blue from the while on the one piece suit. Tony explained "I also designed goggles for you." Pietro saw them left in the box and put them on. "The whole team has some eyewear." Wanda checked hers and found similar goggles to her brothers, "Those have a cloaking feature, your brother's do not."

"Why?" asked Wanda.

"With Quicksilver's, I focused more on optimal visibility at high speeds, plus I don't think the publicist will have much of a problem with his. Yours might be more troublesome for merchandising."

"Seems like merchandising is more important than it should be to you."

"The money from merchandise helps pay for the property damage our battles will most likely cause. Fair warning, we all have to be able to suit up in five minutes or less so we can minimize the damage done by the bad guys."

"Good to know."

Tony pointed out the different things on the common floor then took them to the non-residential part of the Avengers facilities, pointing out different things there to wrap up their tour. The meeting went well, the publicist- Molly Keats- was a little unsure about Wanda's moniker before she saw the reason for it when Wanda levitated a glass of water a few inches into the air, revealing how her fingers glowed red when she used her powers. "Oh, uh, Scarlet Witch is a good name, I guess. Your uniform also helps with the imagery." After the meeting, they changed into their dress clothes and headed down to the press room. Molly met them there and finished their crash course in PR training. Everyone without press training would be getting a much more thorough course courtesy of Stark Industries PR department in the days and weeks to come but for now, they only needed the basics. Pietro had tried to cover his hair but Molly quickly snatched his hat upon seeing it, "This is the one time you want people to very clearly see you are a mutant."

"Force of habit. Can I expect that back after the conference?"

"Yes." She briefed them, even telling them the order they're supposed to be sitting in, before sending them out onto the stage.

In the middle of the table sat Tony Stark, the PR expert among them, flanked by team leads James Rhodes and Carol Danvers. The latter had been summoned to Earth after Tony discovered her file and managed to dig up the pager she gave Fury. He told her what he saw and arranged a reintegration program to bring her up to speed on the modern day, asking her to stay on Earth to help him build up its defenses. Her rank in the Air Force was reinstated once the military had a chance to review the file Tony found and hold a hearing on the matter. The Captain was second in command of the Avengers, under Colonel Rhodes. Pietro was at the end of her side of the table, Molly shooting for balance by having the two mutants and two West Coast Avengers on opposite ends of each other. Between the speedster and the space hero sat Hope van Dyne, right beside the former, and Robbie Reyes. Unbeknownst to the twins, Reyes took the most convincing as he considered himself demonically possessed and thus could not make any promises as to his conduct, he did not want to endanger people like that but he was won over eventually. A scholarship to a gifted school for his brother was one of the selling points for him. On the other side of Stark and Rhodes sat Vision, the only one encouraged not to wear dress clothes. The Vision was a synthezoid created using the core of Loki's sceptre, a yellow stone situated in his forehead. He sat between Colonel Rhodes and Scott Lang, with Wanda rounding them out. Pietro knew Molly wished they had more gender balance, she told them as much, but the fact was that superheroing was a male dominated field. Of the two X-Men teams that existed two months prior, there were only five women out of twelve, fourteen counting Beast and the Professor who were original X-Men still involved in the team's work. They were lucky to have a five to seven or five to nine ratio, those were good numbers for their field. The Avengers had a one to five ratio to start with that grew when Rogers added Wilson to a one to six ration. The New Avengers had three women, five men and an android- Pietro was not sure if Vision actually had a gender. The point being three of the nine New Avengers were women, those numbers were incredible but equality looked better.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Pietro was just in time to listen to Tony give a speech "As you all know, the Avengers Initiative has been officially defunct for a while now. With most of the team in prison, we didn't have much choice. What you probably don't know is that the Initiative was declared defunct to make way for a new one. Now, fair warning, the name might change but for now, we are the New Avengers. This is my new team, they'll be filling the space left by the old team up in the Tower. We are a government sanctioned team, that means we answer to the authorities and can be assigned missions as needed. With this sanction, we will be eligible to draw from the same trust and liable to pay the same fees as other teams that have already publicly launched. I, myself, am one of the benefactors who pay into that trust. Now, I'll introduce everyone since I'm sure most of these people are total strangers to you guys but first, I need to something. Bruce Banner has not been officially removed from the team, his membership has not been revoked since he disappeared and things will remain that way until an informed decision can be made that includes the good doctor in discussions. Now, onto the team members with me here today. I'm sure many of you recognize War Machine, some of you might even recognize Hope van Dyne, Pym Tech's board chairperson so let's start with her. Hope's parents were the original Avengers in the 1970s and 80s, they used proprietary technology her father created to act as operatives codenamed Ant-Man and Wasp. Hope has inherited her mother's mantle and down on the other side of the table, we have Scott Lang, who has been trained in the use of the Ant-Man suit. They are joining us as the new Ant-Man and Wasp. Beside them on the far ends of the table are mutant twins, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, codenames Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver respectively. Pietro is a speedster, in case the name wasn't a clue, and Wanda has what some might call the full psychic package, she's telekinetic, empathic and telepathic. Don't worry, her powers are more visible than they may seem." She levitated the mic in front of her a few inches into the air. "See, her hands glow, that's where the color in her name comes from. Moving inward, next to Hope, we have Roberto Reyes, the current Ghost Rider. Now, his schtick is a bit hard to explain. The Ghost Rider is also known as the Spirit of Vengeance because they are possessed by an actual spirit that seeks to avenge the innocent. Mr. Reyes became the Ghost Rider after a violent car accident, when he swore he'd give anything to save his little brother in what he thought were his dying moments. The Rider before him rode up and passed on the spirit to him, reviving him in the process. Both brothers survived but now Roberto is possessed by a being that turns his head into a flaming skull and has been known to take extreme action against the guilty. Please give him a break guys, he is literally possessed. On the other side is Vision, an android I created to help fight the good fight. He's one of our powerhouses and he passed the Turing Test so we know he thinks like a human." Tony said "Rounding us off are our team leaders. Colonel James Rhodes, also known as War Machine, and Captain Carol Danvers, who spent a lot of time in space building up a reputation as the hero Captain Marvel. Both are members of the US Air Force and as such, they're able to pull double duty as team leads and liaisons between the New Avengers and the government. Just like in the Air Force, the Colonel outranks the Captain. Now we'll take general questions before going down the line with each New Avenger taking three questions max. For the final segment, each of you will get one question max, try to make the most of that one question, once it's used up, you'll just have to sit quietly through the rest of this conference. Alright? General questions, same rule, one question per journalist. Let's begin."

For individual questions, Tony started them off with Pietro. "Good afternoon," he began awkwardly before randomly picking a reporter.

"What's your top speed?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I've created sonic booms so faster than the speed of sound, for sure."

"How long have you had your powers?"

"I manifested during puberty, like most mutants do." He had gotten the green light from Molly so he added "My hair was brown before I manifested, just like my sister's. My hair is considered a physical mutation, like Secretary McCoy's fur, I guess I lucked out there."

"How old are you?"

Pietro looked at Tony, wondering if he could answer with 'no comment' but the billionaire nodded. "I just graduated this past year. I'd like to leave it at that."

Hope was asked about her relationship to Scott, her parents' superhero days, and how she felt taking on the mantle. Robbie got asked about being possessed and he handled that beautifully, just as Carol handled questions about space admirably. Tony took questions about the changing teams, how he felt about being apart of an Avengers team after the last one. Rhodes actually got a question about being liaison and leader mixed in with the other two questions about his connection to Tony Stark possibly greasing the wheels for him to take command. Vision, even Pietro wasn't sure how to handle the android and he wasn't trying to milk him for information in three questions. Scott was asked about how he became Ant-Man and his background, one question was wasted confirming he was dating Hope. By the time they reached Wanda, the heavy hitting reporters seemed to have used up their one question each and she got softballed, although there was a poorly disguised joke about her being an actual witch that she enjoyed answering "Pietro and I actually do descend from witches on our mother's side but I guess the magic died out. Our powers are the result of our X-genes and the X-gene is passed down from the father so there's no connection between my powers and actual witchcraft." Tony closed them out quickly and they went back into the green room where Molly told them how they did.

"Vision, we need to work on your image most of all. When reporters are that clearly clueless, it makes viewers nervous. Wanda, I liked the bit about your family tree including witches but a head's up would've been greatly appreciated. Hope, Scott, same with your relationship. Hope, I know you have press training but Scott doesn't, we're lucky Tony successfully limited questions to three otherwise the press would've buried your boyfriend. Robbie, is there any chance we could get your brother in front of a camera with you?"

"I'll have to check with him and his school. The accident put him in a wheelchair, he can't move his legs but he's wicked smart, always has been. My contract includes a scholarship to cover his tuition but he tested into a gifted school in this state."

"Good to know. I need you to think about finishing your high school education, it's best if we spin your dropout status as you taking care of your little brother but that only works if you finish your degree when you get the chance."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Carol, now that we've emphasized your time in space, expect a lot of people in government wanting to schedule debriefs. You and Rhodes need to work out a strategy so you're not caught up in meetings when the team is training or deployed."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Pietro, nice work on the age question but be warned, your age will get out."

"I thought saying I graduated instead of I'm 18 would make them more likely to think college than high school."

"Your hair works against you there, you don't want them adding too many years. I'll pair you up with your sister whenever possible, I know you didn't like sitting apart today. Try to relax a bit more around reporters, we call them sharks for a reason."

"Yes, ma'am."

She turned to the two remaining team members, "Tony, I appreciate you taking charge since you're the most familiar face but be careful with that, we don't want people thinking you're team lead and Rhodes is just a decoy. James, we need the team field ready as soon as possible, saying you're a team of superheroes isn't enough. I know that will be tricky with everyone getting special press training, even Tony needs a refresher course, but there's now New Avengers without avenging."

"Understood, ma'am."

"That's all I got for now." Most of the team boarded the elevator to take advantage of the free time they had been granted, James hanging back to work out scheduling with Molly.


End file.
